In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
As the shroud cleared from my mind,
The sights I saw, the remnants of my world,
Were all grim apparitions.
Ghastly remnants of a past, interior night.
The pawn lay dead, banished from my head.
And the scent of self deceit grew weak.
The story of I, needs to be revised,
Behold the pawn lay dead!
I've banished my false self I have shred my wretched hide.
I have turned the tide.
Those ills I have suffered affected both mind and skin,
My demons were my own kin.
My fire still remains.
I'll gladly fall from grace.
I'll sacrifice no life for false ideals or for your false ways.
With sight free of taint, a clear conscience regained,
I began to realize my fate, was not to be subject nor be pawn,
I'll bear no crown of thorns.
With all of my heart I forsake the term normality and the illusion of its existence among
the ranks of mankind. Normality is an image constructed by the powerful to further
strengthen their cause and their hold on the subjective realm one calls reality. The normal
person has never existed in flesh, nor will he ever do. He is merely a manifestation of the
person who best serves the interests of the elite who controls the definition of normality.
To be free one must thus rid oneself of any aspiration to be normal. Normality is slavery.
Be Abnormal! Be Free!
The sights I saw, the remnants of my world,
Were all grim apparitions.
Ghastly remnants of a past, interior night.
The pawn lay dead, banished from my head.
And the scent of self deceit grew weak.
The story of I, needs to be revised,
Behold the pawn lay dead!
I've banished my false self I have shred my wretched hide.
I have turned the tide.
Those ills I have suffered affected both mind and skin,
My demons were my own kin.
My fire still remains.
I'll gladly fall from grace.
I'll sacrifice no life for false ideals or for your false ways.
With sight free of taint, a clear conscience regained,
I began to realize my fate, was not to be subject nor be pawn,
I'll bear no crown of thorns.
With all of my heart I forsake the term normality and the illusion of its existence among
the ranks of mankind. Normality is an image constructed by the powerful to further
strengthen their cause and their hold on the subjective realm one calls reality. The normal
person has never existed in flesh, nor will he ever do. He is merely a manifestation of the
person who best serves the interests of the elite who controls the definition of normality.
To be free one must thus rid oneself of any aspiration to be normal. Normality is slavery.
Be Abnormal! Be Free!
Lyrics submitted by JackH83
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.